Sydney label converter Foxcil's new Konica Minolta bizHUB C71cf digital label press, the first in Australia, has been installed at the company's Brookvale plant.
Konica Minolta announced the sale of the small toner-based press, designed for short runs, at PacPrint 2017 in May. A month later, the machine is fully operational, and Roger Kirwan, owner and managing director, is pleased with the results. "It's increased our capacity, and it's helped us to maintain and even sometimes improve our lead times, which is what we were aiming for," Kirwan said.
The machine's small footprint, high output quality, and strong standard of maintenance and support were three factors that helped sell Kirwan on the C71cf, he says, adding that being the first company in Australia to own one fits with Foxcil's philosophy of always looking for the latest technological innovations. "We like to be at the front of the technology curve, and I wanted to make sure we remained there - if we don't, then people will jump in front of us. I was confident around the press's technology, which has been used in Konica Minolta's sheetfed business for a long time, so even though it's web-fed, I feel like the technology is proven," Kirwan said.
The C71cf joins Foxcil's existing Xeikon 3030 label press, which is used for jobs involving variable data or white toner, among others. "The two presses really complement each other," Kirwan said. "Before we purchased the C71cf we were 100 percent reliant on our main production press, and if there were any issues with it we'd wind up dead in the water - we wanted to have an alternative available," he said.
Kirwan says he has been very happy dealing with Konica Minolta. "They're a very good company to deal with, very professional. Like anything, there have been a few teething problems, but they dealt with those issues very well. I'd actually had very limited exposure to Konica Minolta beforehand, but I've been very impressed with them," he said.